World News Quick Take

Agencies

VIETNAM

Mourners, police clash

Angry mourners clashed with riot police at a funeral procession on Sunday, state media said yesterday, in a rare mass protest at alleged impunity for the communist elite. The unrest was triggered by the death of Nguyen Tuan Anh, whose family claims he was killed by the son-in-law of a powerful local official, according to the Tuoi Tre daily. Video clips and photos posted online showed police struggling to contain thousands of mourners as they stormed through the town of Vinh Yen bearing the coffin of Anh, whose disfigured body was pulled from a sewer earlier in the day. Five unidentified people have been arrested in connection with Anh’s death, but police declined to comment on whether the son-in-law of the local official was involved, the Tuoi Tre said. An initial autopsy concluded that Anh drowned, according to another report, but the family has rejected that finding and is calling for a new probe. Local officials could not be reached for comment.

HONG KONG

Son charged over killings

Police yesterday said they had charged two men, including a son of an elderly couple who were gruesomely killed, with murder as a search continues for the missing parts of their bodies. The couple’s severed heads were reportedly found by police in a refrigerator at a bloodstained apartment on the outskirts of the territory on Friday. Parts of their arms and legs were found elsewhere in the apartment. The 29-year-old son and a 35-year-old man, who is reportedly his friend, were jointly charged with two counts of murder on Sunday, a police spokeswoman said. The men appeared at a magistrates’ court yesterday, but no plea was recorded, according to public broadcaster RTHK. Local TV showed one of the suspects being brought to court with his face covered by a black hood.

CAMBODIA

War crimes court strike ends

Employees at the cash-strapped Khmer Rouge war crimes tribunal have ended a strike that paralyzed the trial of elderly former regime leaders, the court said yesterday. The resolution follows calls from rights groups and the UN to speed up the trial of the remaining two Khmer Rouge defendants, following the death of regime cofounder Ieng Sary last week. About 20 Cambodian translators and interpreters, who walked out on March 4, have agreed to return to work after they were promised they would receive their wages for December this week, tribunal spokesman Neth Pheaktra said. “The strike is over for now,” he said, but added that the staff warned that they would walk out again on April 1 if their contracts were not renewed by the end of this month. About 270 Cambodian employees at the UN-backed court, including drivers, prosecutors and judges, have received no wages since November.

HONG KONG

Yeoh honored at film awards

Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) is happy to be honored with the “Excellence in Asian Cinema Award,” but says she hopes there is no hidden message. “I hope it’s not their way of telling me that I need to retire,” she said. The star of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (臥虎藏龍) and last year’s Aung San Suu Kyi biopic The Lady was to be honored at the Asian Film Awards last night. Speaking to reporters a day earlier, Yeoh said she was happy to receive the award where her career started, in Hong Kong. She also acknowledged she has long heard rumors of a Crouching Tiger sequel, but said she has yet to see a script or other plans on the project. The 2000 original was directed by Ang Lee (李安) and won four Oscar awards.